above: Painted pumpkins help set the mood for a glorious get-together.

Salute fall with a seasonal get-together for friends and family. Entice guests with a bountiful tablescape filled with traditional touches such as pumpkins, fresh fruit, bouquets, and gourds. For a shimmering surprise, add touches of metallic paint to different kinds of produce. Harvest our easy ideas for your tabletop.

Begin your setting with an inexpensive tablecloth; layer pieces of colored burlap, and fray the edges to add interest. Then create a table runner from the same natural material. Scatter fall foliage, fresh fruit, and bright berries along the table, and pack ceramic vases high with beautiful fall blooms. For the buffet, create a Champagne bucket or wine chiller from a hollowed-out pumpkin. Fill the chiller with ice, and nestle a bottle inside. (Set a plate under the pumpkin to protect the tabletop.)

above, left: These creative candlesticks are simple to make; above, middle: Use colored paper and ribbons to create invitations. above, right: Small, painted gourds add glitz and glamour to a buffet table.

Create place cards by attaching note cards to small pumpkins or gourds. Or nestle cards among fall flowers for a different look. Then brighten up your table with small taper candles placed in stacked gourds. Fill compotes with sand, set larger candles in them, and add pretty gourds all around for decoration. Your guests are sure to be delighted.

For the main attraction, add a new twist to pumpkins. Forget the traditional orange and black--you will get a more sophisticated look by priming and painting them with gold and silver spray paint. Use a series of clear glass vases piled high with gourds, and arrange painted pumpkins inside. You can prepare them in advance of your fall fling so that you can be as relaxed as your guests.

above, left: Create a Champagne bucket from a pretty pumpkin: Carve out the inside, fill it with ice, and nestle in a Champagne bottle. above, middle: Glass vases filled with gourds beautifully welcome the season; above, right: Group cut flowers, leaves, and berries in ceramic containers